Birmingham centre ring

[Philip]

Thanks all, yes I have a cruiser so it's particularly useful for locks with the nippy acceleration, less so for powering upstream on rivers as it's a small inboard!

 

Still considering the options; the Titford Canal sounds interesting with it being the highest point on the BCN. Another option I'm thinking of is to do Wheaton Aston/Brewood to Merry Hill or Windmill End in a day with the quick stop off at the BCLM for the chippy and then I would think I'd still have time to make a detour to Hawne Basin, or up the Park Head locks, neither of which I've done before. The next day would be from Merry Hill to Alvechurch, so obviously that would knock the 'Birmingham centre ring' idea on the head. I suppose another thing to consider is that the next day will have rather a lot of locks, down to Droitwich!

 

From what I've read on here, the Aston flight sounds the grottiest part of this ring, so I guess with an early start I'd at least clear these locks by mid-morning.

Edited September 19, 2019 by Philip

[Mike Todd]

1 hour ago, Philip said:

Thanks all, yes I have a cruiser so it's particularly useful for locks with the nippy acceleration, less so for powering upstream on rivers as it's a small inboard!

 

Still considering the options; the Titford Canal sounds interesting with it being the highest point on the BCN. Another option I'm thinking of is to do Wheaton Aston/Brewood to Merry Hill or Windmill End in a day with the quick stop off at the BCLM for the chippy and then I would think I'd still have time to make a detour to Hawne Basin, or up the Park Head locks, neither of which I've done before. The next day would be from Merry Hill to Alvechurch, so obviously that would knock the 'Birmingham centre ring' idea on the head. I suppose another thing to consider is that the next day will have rather a lot of locks, down to Droitwich!

 

From what I've read on here, the Aston flight sounds the grottiest part of this ring, so I guess with an early start I'd at least clear these locks by mid-morning.

50 locks down to the Droitwich Marina is perfectly doable in a day, even by oldies!

[Captain Pegg]

13 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

50 locks down to the Droitwich Marina is perfectly doable in a day, even by oldies!

It is. Although the fact there only 45 locks from Alvechurch to Droitwich Marina speeds things up a bit. Philip will need to do 50 to get to Droitwich; which for the uninitiated is a small town a mile or two down further the canal that takes its name from the nearby marina.

 

JP

[Sea Dog]

21 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

50 locks down to the Droitwich Marina is perfectly doable in a day, even by oldies!

Having done Birmingham centre to Droitwich Spa Marina (a fair bit short of the town) many times, I'd offer that the journey above may be doable, but I certainly wouldn't even consider it. My "usual routine" was: day 1 - Alvechurch; day 2 - Queens Head; day 3 - the remainder. Granted, that's not going to be breaking any records (I am never really in a hurry - wrong sport - and I set that schedule for comfort rather than speed) so it's easy to "beat" those timings. Nevertheless, there's still a limit at what can be achieved below 4mph and I'd say "perfectly doable" suggests a rather more comfortable itinerary than the journey above would be in a day. Fill yer boots if you must, but get behind a boat or two travelling at normal speeds or follow someone not flogging themselves too hard down the locks and that journey is gonna be a bit stressful for my money. Isn't that more "rep on the motorway" territory?

[Philip]

Birmingham to Droitwich seems too much for the reasons stated, I'd at least like to be on the other side of Wast Hill tunnel the evening before the descent.

 

What is the current restriction time between Wolverley and Debdale locks? The plan for the day after Droitwich is to get beyond Wolverley, but when I passed through here in June it was closed after 3pm. Is this still the case?

Edited September 20, 2019 by Philip

[Captain Pegg]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

Having done Birmingham centre to Droitwich Spa Marina (a fair bit short of the town) many times, I'd offer that the journey above may be doable, but I certainly wouldn't even consider it. My "usual routine" was: day 1 - Alvechurch; day 2 - Queens Head; day 3 - the remainder. Granted, that's not going to be breaking any records (I am never really in a hurry - wrong sport - and I set that schedule for comfort rather than speed) so it's easy to "beat" those timings. Nevertheless, there's still a limit at what can be achieved below 4mph and I'd say "perfectly doable" suggests a rather more comfortable itinerary than the journey above would be in a day. Fill yer boots if you must, but get behind a boat or two travelling at normal speeds or follow someone not flogging themselves too hard down the locks and that journey is gonna be a bit stressful for my money. Isn't that more "rep on the motorway" territory?

 

33 minutes ago, Philip said:

Birmingham to Droitwich seems too much for the reasons stated, I'd at least like to be on the other side of Wast Hill tunnel the evening before the descent.

 

What is the current restriction time between Wolverley and Debdale locks? The plan for the day after Droitwich is to get beyond Wolverley, but when I passed through here in June it was closed after 3pm. Is this still the case?

Birmingham to Droitwich would be a bit epic in a day, although technically possible in daylight hours for a couple of months in the year.

 

However I took it that the journey under discussion was Alvechurch to Droitwich (Vines Park/Netherwich) which is achievable even for a single handler in a lot less time than CanalPlan’s calculated 12 hours. Obviously it’s not everyone’s idea of fun to single hand 50 locks in one day but if you want to be somewhere and have limited time it makes sense since Queens Head to Droitwich is a little less than many people’s standard cruising day. I tend to do Droitwich to somewhere above Tardebigge in one day if on my own or with experienced help, and in two days if it’s a family trip.

 

But can we please bust one myth? You do not get further in a day by rushing. I go the same speed whether I am doing the journey in one day or two days. I just work a longer or shorter day. Conversely you don’t cruise in a more relaxed fashion if you take more days; you just spend more time tied up. Personally I prefer to be moving through the majority of the day.

 

JP

 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2019 by Captain Pegg

[Rob-M]

4 hours ago, Philip said:

Birmingham to Droitwich seems too much for the reasons stated, I'd at least like to be on the other side of Wast Hill tunnel the evening before the descent.

 

What is the current restriction time between Wolverley and Debdale locks? The plan for the day after Droitwich is to get beyond Wolverley, but when I passed through here in June it was closed after 3pm. Is this still the case?

There aren't any time restrictions now through the landslip.